


Black Angelfish

by snowmouse



Category: K (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pet Store, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-05
Updated: 2016-11-18
Packaged: 2018-08-29 02:36:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8472241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowmouse/pseuds/snowmouse
Summary: Munakata makes Fushimi get a pet.





	1. Chapter 1

_Fushimi-kun, I expect you to have properly found a new friend by the end of the day._ These words echoed in Saruhiko’s mind as he walked to the pet store. Why did he have to have such a nosy boss? Just because he doesn’t like to participate in social events, doesn’t mean he has no friends. It’s only because his fellow coworkers lack intelligence and wastes his time with “small talk” that Saruhiko chooses not to associate with them.

 _I’m worried that you are not comfortable with the other Scepter 4 members, why don’t you start by going to get a pet. It will teach you the value of companionship, the first step towards friendship._ Conversations with his commanding officer were always so unpleasant. As much as Saruhiko didn’t want to follow Munakata’s unreasonable request, no was not an answer that the older man would accept. Better to do what he’s told, than to see what other ideas Munakata had in store for him.

Saruhiko continued on his path until he saw the bright red sign of the pet store. It read Homra Pet Store in a rather vintage-looking font and bolded letters. Saruhiko stared up at the sign wondering why the hell the world hated him and how much he would rather work overtime. Well, no use in complaining, so Saruhiko pushes open the door as the sound of bells chimed with a light jingle. The sound would not have bothered him, but today they sounded as if they were mocking him – the gateway to little demons and stuffy air awaits.

The first thing he witnesses as he enters is a crowd of children hovering around glass displays which held puppies. Puppies were way too cheerful for a guy like Fushimi, constantly barking for attention and making messes, definitely not for him. The thought of having to constantly be aware of a small dog with never ending energy seemed like something that’d be more trouble than it’s worth.

To his right, Saruhiko could see the other pet sections that the store offered: cats, small animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. He didn’t know exactly where to start, so Saruhiko goes toward the opposite direction of the crowd into the quietest section: fish.

The area was dark with lights that shone into the water of each separate tank, making the coloured scales of the fish appear more vibrant. The aquariums were lined up in rows from left to right creating an image that sort of looked like a wall of bricks made from glowing glass. Truth be told it was mesmerizing seeing the many sea creatures in their own spotlights.

As he enters the fish section, he notices a young man heading towards him. The young man had short red-chestnut coloured hair, golden hazel eyes, and from what Saruhiko could tell, he was probably a teenager. Oh how Saruhiko hated to deal with teenagers and their hormone induced behaviours, so troublesome indeed.

“Hey, is there anything I could help you to find?” the young man asked. Saruhiko not wanting to start a conversation replies with a simple, “No” and then tries to quickly walk away. The boy followed right behind him and said, “Are you sure? I know where everything here is at Homra.” Saruhiko scowls at him hoping he would be left alone. “What pet are you looking for?” the red head continues. Obviously it didn’t work.

Saruhiko takes a glance back at the boy and notices the name tag on his shirt: Yata Misaki.

In a passive aggressive tone he says, “It seems that your teenage brain did not understand what no means, Misaki.”

“Don’t call me that, it’s Yata!” the young man yelled. “And I’m not a teenager, I’m twenty years old!”

The sudden loud voice caught Fushimi by surprise. His eyes widened slightly but composed himself just as sudden. _Why is this Yata Misaki fellow getting angry at the use of his first name? And how are we the same age. . ._ Then it clicks in the raven's mind and a smirk starts to form at the corner of his mouth.

“Twenty you say, well my mistake, your height made me think otherwise, Mi. Sa. Ki.”

Misaki loses all of his temper in an instant and snarls, “You wanna fight!”

“No thank you, a fight wouldn’t be fair for you,” Saruhiko grins.

Saruhiko sees Misaki’s chest puff up, his brows beginning to scrunch together and the veins on his forehead starting to bulge. Everything on Misaki’s face was so easy to read. _Such a simpleton._ He was like an open book; an angry ruby red book that could have seen better days.

“Listen hear punk! I don’t like your attitu– ”

“Yata-chan, please be polite to the customers,” a blond man wearing sunglasses casually cuts in.

“But Kusanagi-san–” Misaki gestures to Saruhiko, “–This guy is being an asshole.”

Kusanagi gives Misaki a ‘you better not argue with me’ look and the red head immediately goes quiet.

“Sorry for his rudeness, but I’m sure he will be able to help you now,” Kusanagi adds. After the blond is certain that Misaki is now calm, he goes back to his previous task of polishing the glass aquarium tanks.

“Uhhh. . .I’m sorry for my earlier behaviour,” Misaki apologizes while rubbing the back of his neck. “If you want. . .I can still help you. . .”

There is a brief silence as Saruhiko stares at the boy who has a faint blush of pink on his cheeks. _He’s probably feeling embarrassed now._ And because if getting help would get him out of the store faster, Saruhiko supposed getting assistance would be acceptable.

“Fine,” he sighs. “Let’s get this over with.”

Misaki perks up at Saruhiko’s swift change of mind and asks him once again, “What pet are you looking for?” while observing Saruhiko’s poker face.

Saruhiko processes these words in his mind and remembers the different types of pets offered at Homra: dogs, cats, small animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. Dogs were already off his mental list of what kind of pet he would want to keep, as well as anything else that had fur – cats and small animals. Birds were annoying with all their cheery chirping, therefore immediately crossed out. Reptiles have a more exotic diet, for example some need to be fed live insects, so they were a definite negative. The last pet choice was fish, considering they don’t need much attention and their diets consists of nothing too strange; just your average fish food. A fish seems like the perfect pet for Saruhiko.

“I’m looking to find a pet fish,” the raven announced.

Conveniently, the two boys were already in the fish section of the pet store.

Misaki jumps slightly after the short pause from Saruhiko, but leads him deeper into where the fish are located.

“Is there any specific type of fish you’re looking for?” says Misaki.

In a monotone voice, Saruhiko replies, “No, anything is fine.”

“You can just select a random fish for me.”

The red head seemed confused at Saruhiko’s lack of interest, but begins browsing the fish tanks anyway.

There were many fish in different shapes and colours. The colours ranged from a dazzling red to a mellow blue. There were even some fish that stood out, like an arowana with a gold shine, a pale green lionfish, and a long whiskered silver-tipped shark. As simple of a pet as they were, the fish were eye-catching; they resembled floating gems when viewed from a distance.  

At last, Misaki stops in front of an aquarium and laughs, “Doesn’t this guy look like you.”

Saruhiko’s line of sight passes over Misaki’s shoulder and he witnesses a pitch black coloured fish with long fins that flowed at the tips. _Pterophyllum, commonly known as angelfish._ Being compared to an angelfish was new to him and he wasn’t sure if he should’ve been offended. The fish had a constant blank gaze, most likely resulting from the fact that fish lack eyelids.

“He has your unenthusiastic face,” Misaki cries with amusement.

“They say that pets resemble their owners. And this little guy is your spitting image.”

Misaki continued his giggling as Saruhiko and the black angelfish made eye contact. It may have been his imagination but Saruhiko could have sworn the fish ignored him soon after their eyes met. _Tch. What a rude fish._

“I recommend this black angelfish right here,” Misaki interrupts Saruhiko’s thoughts.

“Whatever.”

With that, Misaki disappears and returns with a small net along with a plastic bag. The angelfish was floating by himself in the top left-hand corner of the tank, so it wouldn’t be too difficult in catching it. Misaki opens the plastic bag and scoops some of the water from the tank. To Saruhiko’s surprise, Misaki skillfully sweeps the net and before he could blink, the fish was inside the water-filled bag.

“Do you already have a place set up for the angelfish?” asks Misaki.

The taller realizes that he doesn’t have any fish materials at his apartment, well not much of anything really, so he tells Misaki, “No, I'll purchase all I need tomorrow.” Saruhiko wanted to hurry back to the office and show Munakata his new pet. Hopefully his boss would stop bothering him, even if just for a little while.

“Sure thing,” says Misaki.

“Then just follow me to the front and I’ll ring you through.”

Sarukiho purchases the black angelfish and as he leaves Homra, for some odd reason, the sound of the bells weren’t as irritable as earlier in the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last time I remember writing a story was in Elementary school. . .its been about 10 yrs since then ^^''  
> Also, I was inspired when I saw said fish, and it was the last one in its tank (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Fun times" at Scepter 4 and then at Homra ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments c:  
> Encouraged me to not be lazy xD

As Saruhiko enters the Scepter 4 building he encounters Awashima Seri, the lieutenant, who at that moment greets him with a nod. She sees him carrying his recent purchase and gives a soft smile before heading off with papers that needed to be filed.

Saruhiko scans the office and thankfully his other coworkers have already left for the day. The cubicles were all empty, but some computer monitors were still left on. With the sun setting, the room was dimmer and the glow of the screens reminded Saruhiko of the aquarium lights. _Nice and quiet._

Munakata had his own private room located at the back of the office. Saruhiko knocked on the door and hears a ‘come in’. He opens the door and sees his commanding officer reading over data reports.

“Fushimi-kun, what brings you here?” says Munakata.

“Reporting in. I have adopted a pet.”

 Saruhiko lifts up the bag in hand and Munakata’s eyes wander to the angelfish.

“Ah, what a lovely specimen. May I ask the name of this tiny friend of yours?”

“I have not given him a name,” replies Saruhiko.

A sly grin shows on the older man’s face. “Oh, that won’t do. You can’t be leaving your friend nameless, he might as well be a stranger.”

“I have a suggestion, what about calling him Reisi?”

 _Hell no._ Saruhiko takes a deep breath and with no noticeable malice in his voice says, “I will have to decline the suggestion.” The raven mentally panics for a moment, but then an idea strikes him. _It’s black in colour so. . ._

“I believe the name Noir will suit my pet better.”

 Munakata glances downwards for a brief second, which makes Saruhiko guess that his boss was disappointed at the immediate rejection. _Not my problem._

“Yes, it does suit your friend,” Munakata nods with his calm outer appearance once again. “Noir is the word for black in the French language. Very straightforward, I expect nothing less from you Fushimi-kun.”

“Then may I be dismissed?” Saruhiko asks. He didn’t want to stay in this meaningless conversation with his superior any longer than necessary and wanted to leave Munakata’s office as soon as possible.

“Very well. Have a good evening Fushimi-kun.”

The raven finally steps out of the room and lets out a sigh. _That could’ve gone worse. Thank god it’s over._ Saruhiko feels exhausted mentally and physically. It had been a long day and now he can finally go home to his apartment.

Upon arriving to his apartment, Saruhiko taps in his code to unlock the door. _Click._ There is a short hallway that leads to the living room and kitchen. He heads into his unused kitchen and opens a cupboard to grab a glass cup. Carefully, Saruhiko pours Noir into the glass and leaves him on the kitchen counter.

After Saruhiko takes a shower, he turns on his laptop and researches a bit on angelfish. Even if the raven tends to show a never-ending bored expression, he always completes whatever task at hand efficiently. When Saruhiko believes he has gathered enough information, he passes out on his bed.

Morning comes and Saruhiko is woken up by his alarm. He had a good sleep last night as he wakes up with no recollection of a dream or nightmare, only much desired rest for his fatigued body.

It takes a while before Saruhiko makes it to work; as he was never a morning person. He puts on his blue jacket, looks to see that Noir was still okay in the glass and heads to Scepter 4.

Upon arriving at work, Saruhiko is immediately approached by Munakata. “Hi Fushimi-kun, how is your new friend doing?” his boss delightfully asks.

Heads pop up at Munakata’s words, like how gophers spring up from their homes when spring arrives. Oh how Saruhiko would love to play whack-a-mole with his coworkers’ heads. _Can’t they mind their own business?_

“Noir is doing fine Sir,” replies the raven.

“That’s splendid. Then I’ll leave you to your day’s assignments.” Saruhiko gives a slight bow and sits down at his desk, as Munakata returns to his office. Saruhiko has a bad feeling as he receives curious glances from his coworkers’ cubicles. _Please. Please._ And of course, Doumyougi is the first to approach him.

“Hello Fushimi, what’s this I hear about a new friend? Noir sounds like a cool name. Can I meet him?” Doumyougi casually inquires. Saruhiko couldn’t believe his captain, why did he like to meddle in people’s affairs.

Saruhiko notices Hidaka staring intently downwards, which made it so obvious that he was ease dropping. At least the other Scepter 4 members were still clicking on their laptops, appearing as if they were working when Saruhiko knew that they were curious as well.

“Go back to work, Doumyougi,” hisses Saruhiko.

“Come on Fushimi, I’m just happy you made a friend, and we’re all curious to see who it is.” Any listeners misguided their view in the opposite direction.

Saruhiko knew he was going to get nowhere with this meddlesome bunch, so reluctantly he said, “I don’t have a new friend, yesterday I adopted a pet fish.”

Eyes widened all around him. He felt like a deer in headlights.

“Oh” was all the other male could say. Doumyouji apologizes for the confusion and instantly goes back to work.

What a tiresome morning Saruhiko was having, and it was only the start of his day. The rest of his day, thankfully was work as usual. When Saruhiko’s shift was done, as he stated yesterday, he headed straight to Homra Pet Store.

The sign of the store was still obnoxiously red, very bright and blinding, it was an in-your-face colour, which Saruhiko wasn’t really a fan of. He preferred the calmness and the authority that the colour blue could bring. Saruhiko recalls all the information he looked up last night and proceeds to enter Homra.

The raven already had a mental blueprint from yesterday’s visit, so he knew exactly where to find everything he needed for Noir. As he proceeded into the aisle filled with aquariums, Saruhiko sees a tuff of familiar amber hair. He quickly walks into the aisle hoping the red head didn’t notice him. Unfortunately for Saruhiko, his day hasn’t been going as planned.

Misaki waves at Saruhiko as he approaches him, while Saruhiko was trying to avoid making eye contact.

“Hey, your back!” Misaki beams.

“You came back just like you said. Interested in my help?”

 _Why does he want to help me again?_ Saruhiko didn’t understand how someone would offer to help him again after they experienced his usual non-friendly attitude. _This guy must be an idiot. Yup, truly an idiot._

“No, I’m fine by myself,” Saruhiko replies with a bored tone.

“Well okay, but I’ll be close by if you change your mind,” Misaki says as he stands nearby, organizing the fish supplies.

The taller man felt weird with Misaki being so kind to him, most people would’ve left Saruhiko alone after meeting him. The feeling he had wasn’t bad, it was just unfamiliar to him. Anyway, Saruhiko continues looking for what he needed for Noir: a fish tank, preferably with a filter, and fish food. It didn’t take Saruhiko long to find an acceptable tank with a good filter system; less cleaning for him to do in the long run.

As Saruhiko walks into the aisle with fish food, he notices the red head peeking from the corner. It would seem he was being followed again. _Sigh._ Misaki was a strange one indeed. After Saruhiko picks out the fish food, he heads straight to the cash registers. Saruhiko hits his forehead. Unsurprisingly, he sees Misaki at the till. _Oh my god._

Saruhiko places down the aquarium and fish food, but as he reaches to get his credit card, Misaki starts to talk again.

“Is this really everything you’re getting? The angelfish will be bored with an empty tank. Why not get some decorations?”

“Cause that would be unnecessary. Mi. Sa. Ki.”

“It’s Yata, by the way, and you get a discount since you’re buying a fish tank.” Saruhiko was kind of disappointed when he got no reaction from using Misaki’s first name.

“No thank you, can I pay now?” Saruhiko says, starting to get annoyed.

“Okay, but your missing out man. Look we even have these awesome fake plants.” Misaki points to the ever-so-convenient bin full of them next to the register. It would seem that Saruhiko was getting nowhere with the red head, and he was getting tired and just wanted to go home.

“Fine, I’ll take one of the plants too.” Saruhiko was exhausted and gave up. Misaki gave him an enormous smile as Saruhiko gave in, and that made his heart clutch a bit. Maybe he should see a doctor.

When the raven finally paid for everything, he dashed for the door. As he began exiting Homra, he feels a tap on his shoulder from behind. _Why me._ And of course, it was Misaki.

“Here, it’s my number, just in case if you have any questions.”

A piece of paper is forcibly given to him by a blushing boy and he is left confused at the door. Once Saruhiko gets himself together, he puts the paper in his jacket pocket and thinks over his visit at Homra as he heads back to his apartment. _Was Misaki worried about me? Is that why I currently have this possible stranger's number. . . Why he was following me in the aisles? No way. We only met yesterday. No one cares about me. He probably just wants something from me. . ._

These thoughts kept lingering on Saruhiko’s mind as he got home, set up the aquarium, placing Noir in it, feeding him, and as he went to sleep.


End file.
